LWZ116 TORTS 2017 1. Research Assignment Assessment Item Description Research Assignment Value: 40% Due date: Due Date Friday 11.59PM 1 September 2017 (midnight) late papers attract a 4% mark deduction per day. Do not leave submission to the last moment. Late submission penalties apply even if you are unable to submit due to technical issues. Task: 2500 word (+/- 10%) Research Paper – 700 word sublimit on the Summary of Facts Text in the footnotes and the chronology will be excluded from the word count. Assignments that do not fall within the word limit will incur a penalty. If an assignment exceeds the maximum word count (2750) the remainder of the assignment WILL NOT BE READ and will not be eligible for MARKS. Preparation  The assignment should be typed (12 point).  Referencing and citations MUST accord with the style as set out in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 3rd edition.  Assignments MUST include a footer showing your name, student number, and the unit code and name. Cover Sheets are no longer required Assignments that do not meet this criteria WILL NOT BE MARKED. Submission The assignment should be submitted on or before the due date via the Assessment Submission link in the Assessments Tab of the Learnline site. Students must ensure that the correct document constituting their assignment has been lodged AND saved within the Learnline submission site. PLEASE TAKE CARE TO SUBMIT THE FINAL VERSION OF YOUR ASSIGNMENT. If you accidentally submit a draft version of your paper then this is what will be marked. Note: You are able to make 2 submissions so if you make a mistake you can still resubmit the correct file. Learning Outcomes This assignment relates to Learning Outcomes 1,4,5,6 1. Identify, discuss and analyse major themes and foundational concepts in the law of tort. 4. Develop a broad understanding of basic working knowledge of tort, and of the more significant forms of tortious action. This includes an understanding of the principles, legislation underpinning the modern law of torts and engaging with the broader international, transnational and comparative context. 5. Apply legal problem solving skills using tortious principles and case law in providing advice on tortious actions in hypothetical problem and actual case law situations. 6. Communicate in ways that are persuasive and effective for legal and non-legal audiences, in written and oral form, in tort law context. Assessment Criteria Students will be assessed on the Assessment Criteria detailed below. 2 2. Assessment Criteria Criteria Criteria description Number of marks To gain high marks for this section the essay will: 1. Introduction Appropriately define relevant issues and facts 2 Clearly and concisely explain the context and scope for the paper that logically establishes a foundation for the content that follows 2. Factual Investigation Investigate and explain accurately the facts giving rise to the plaintiffs claim 7 Demonstrate the ability to research, analyse and summarise material in order to create a clear, concise and coherent summary of relevant facts 3. Identification of Legal Issues Correctly identify the relevant legal issues 3 Demonstrate the ability to analyse complex facts and law to identify the relevant legal issues 4. Observations on Law Explain the relevant legal principles and authorities regarding the relevant legal issues 7 Clearly explain the relevant legal principles with reference to the appropriate authorities apply the law and other relevant material to answer the question asked; demonstrate originality or flair; work is interesting, exciting, challenging, well read or scholarly. 5. Research Conduct relevant legal research to evaluate a cause of action 6 Exceptional research and reading of primary and secondary sources. Research is integrated into the essay and informs the student’s critical approach to the topic. All information is appropriately footnoted, regardless of whether the information is paraphrased or quoted directly. The footnotes contain appropriate legal authorities. The formatting of the footnotes follows the Australian Guide to Legal Citation exactly. Pinpoint citations are used whenever possible. 6. Analysis Apply relevant principles of law to complex facts to support a proposition 11 Conduct a detailed analysis of law and fact to formulate a coherent legal argument and assess its prospects of success. Clearly and elegantly establish a central argument (and supporting arguments if appropriate) that is continued throughout the text in a persuasive manner 7. Academic Writing Style and structure 2 Writing is logically structured using subheadings or IRAC. Sentence and paragraph length assist readability. Language is clear, concise and precise. Assignment is free of spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. 8. Conclusion Formulate a logical conclusion 2 a well-reasoned conclusion that is logically supported by the earlier analysis (although the examiner does not need to personally be persuaded by the argument) Total Marks 40 marks 3 3. Supported Assessment Activities There are a number of learning activities scheduled to support students in successfully completing this assignment. 3.1 Library Workshops Scheduled Workshops include:  Law Library 101- This class will get you up and running and using the library quickly, you will undertake an orientation of the library resources and services and get an overview of undertaking legal research.  AGLC Basic- Never referenced before or need a refresher on using the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC)? This introductory class will take you step-by-step into using the AGLC.  Using the AGLC in Essays- This class will go through some practical exercises in learning how to use the AGLC to maximise your assignment marks. Don’t lose marks because of referencing mistakes or plagiarism.  Researching for your Law Assignment- Bring along your assignment question, this session will get you researching for your assignments.  Super Simple Searching for Case Law- This class will introduce you to searching and finding case law the super easy and fast way. Class: Date: Time (Darwin): Register online: Using the AGLC in Essays 25 July 3-4pm Register Researching for your law assignment 25 July 11-12noon Register Researching for your law assignment 8 August 2-3pm Register Super Simple Searching for Case Law 26 July 4-5pm Register Super Simple Searching for Case Law 10 August 9-10am Register Attending an online class is a great way to interact and ask questions. If you cannot make any of the sessions on offer, classes have already been recorded and available on the Law Research Guide Recorded Library Workshops page: http://libguides.cdu.edu.au/c.php?g=376990&p=4851244 3.2 Torts Tutorial 1 – A Club in Crisis This explores the relevant facts in abbreviate d form and focuses on exploring the concepts of recoverable loss, identification of plaintiffs and defendants 3.3 Torts Assignment Research Session – Week 2 This session will be conducted at 9am on 25 July 2017 during the lecture timeslot. The Law Research Librarian will provide a special briefing on researching for this specific assignment. 3.4 Torts Assignment Focus Session – Week 3 This session will be conducted at 9am on 1 August 2017 during the lecture timeslot. It will focus on reviewing the requirements of the assignment and answering any student queries. Asynchronous students should email their questions at least 24 hours before this session. 4 4. Coverage of Materials 4.1 Assignment Focus This assignment principally focuses on:  Duty of Care; and  Causation/Remoteness of Damage However breach of duty or other aspects of the law of negligence may be relevant depending upon how you scope your paper. Students should expect to research the relevant law and commentary in major databases to critically examine leading case law and commentary. The materials covered in lectures and tutorial only provide a basic foundation for the assignment. Students are required to conduct independent research and analysis. Course materials alone are not adequate to allow the questions to be properly analysed. 4.2 Research Assignment Summary This assignment requires you to investigate a contemporary factual scenario and advise on the legal issues involved by preparing a brief to counsel, which includes detailed and researched observations on law. In 2012 the Essendon Football Club (“Essendon”) engaged in a program of administering certain supplements to its professional athletes (“the Supplement Program”). It was ultimately held by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that the Supplement Program had breached the World Anti Doping Authority’s requirements. As a result 34 Essendon players (“the Essendon 34”) were banned from participation in the 2016 Australian Football League Season. Essendon was fined $200,000 for its breach of occupational health and safety laws in Victoria. As a consequence of the bans imposed on the Essendon 34, those players may have suffered loss of sponsorships, loss of income, emotional distress and loss of reputation. Essendon has settled compensation claims for 31 of the Essendon 34. The circumstances of 2 particular participants in the Supplement Program are of interest for the purposes of this assignment: - Nathan Howlett-Murray has recently indicated that he intends to bring legal proceedings against Essendon on the basis of ongoing health issues suffered by himself and his 3 year old daughter. A copy of a recent media release is attached. In this case the potential plaintiffs are Nathan and his daughter. - James Hird the senior coach of Essendon reportedly attempted suicide as a consequence of the aftermath of the Supplement Program. A copy of a media release is attached. In this case the potential plaintiff is James. Choose one of the above participants and assume that you have been instructed to prepare a brief to their Counsel (barrister) to draft pleadings to institute a claim for common law negligence. You should ignore any other cause of action. For the purposes of the assignment you should assume that Northern Territory law applies. 4.3 Content of Research Assignment – Brief to Counsel Your brief should include:  An introduction – this will set out the scope of the issues that you will address in your brief – particularly you will need to identify the potential defendant/s against whom the proceedings will be brought. It is important that you clearly consider and define the scope of your brief. A brief that contains a detailed analysis of a single issue may achieve a higher grade than a brief that has a superficial analysis of a number of issues. 5  A summary of the facts relevant to your chosen plaintiff. This section will explain your investigation of the facts in respect of your chosen plaintiff and chosen defendant/s. You should clearly set out the relevant facts that will support your client’s action. Each of these must be supported by a footnote reference to your source. The summary of facts needs to be relevant, complete and concise. A maximum word count of 700 words applies to this section.  Assumptions – you may need to make some assumptions or draw inferences as you will not have detailed instructions from your potential plaintiff. You must clearly state any assumptions that you make and these must logically follow from the available facts  A chronology of relevant events ( as an attachment). you may use any format you choose as long as all events have an appropriate source;  A summary of the Issues – In an IRAC approach this equates to the “I” – issue identification – this should briefly outline the scope of your paper and the issues that you are addressing  Observations on Law – this section will explain the relevant case law, legal principles and authorities – In an IRAC approach this equates to the “R”, the explanation of the relevant legal rules  Observations on Law and Facts- this is the analysis of the law as applied to the facts and should include a detailed discussion and analysis of the relevant law as it applies to the particular facts that you have established in your investigation. You should clearly: o explain the relevant law and how it applies to the facts o state any assumptions or inferences and the basis for them o identify any difficulties that your client may have in succeeding in their claim, and explain how these may be overcome. The quality of this analysis will largely determine your grade for this assessment.  Conclusion - Your conclusion on whether your client’s claim is likely to be successful 4.4 Form of Assignment Your brief to counsel must be written as an academic paper and include referencing based on AGLC. Every sentence that is not of your own must be supported by a citation. To avoid plagiarism remember if you:  Paraphrase;  Quote; or  Copy or adapt someone else’s work then you must cite your source. You must provide a pinpoint citations ie a citation that includes the precise page or paragraph that is the source eg Sullivan V Moody (2001) 207 CLR 562 @ 580 This assignment is limited to 2500 words and is worth 40 Marks or 40% of your overall grade in this unit. Please note the 700 word sub-limit on the Summary of Facts.